Upcoming Games

Coaches Show

Remaining shows take place at the Swinging Doors in Spokane at 6
p.m. Mondays Jan. 13 to March 10 (no shows Jan. 27 and Feb. 24),
and feature head coach Jim Hayford and host
Larry Weir. The Swinging Doors is located at W.
1018 Francis in Spokane. Shows are broadcast on 700-AM ESPN,
www.700espn.com & via iphone app. (search for “Spokane
Radio” and download app).

Coverage

TV: Televised live regionally by SWX digital
6.2 in Spokane/Cheney/Sandpoint/Lewiston, 23.3 in Yakima and 25.3
in the Tri-Cities; also via Comcast 306 (Spokane); Davis Cable
514/81.2/12 (Cheney); Time Warner 306 (Coeur d’Alene &
Pullman/Moscow); Charter 287 (Tri-Cities/Yakima), Cable One 466
(Lewiston) and Northland Cable 115 (Moses Lake &
Sandpoint)..
Webcast: EWU home games and all Big Sky games are carried
at http://www.watchbigsky.com
Radio: All Eastern games are on 700-AM ESPN in
Spokane. Larry Weir returns for his 21st season calling the
play-by-play, starting 20 minutes prior to
tipoff.
Internet Radio:www.700espn.com or www.tunein.com
Radio iPhone App: Search for “Spokane Radio”
and download app. An app is also available for tunein
radio.Live Stats:ewulive.statb.us
(web/all EWU home Games) or ewustats.com (mobile phones/EWU Home Games)

They only get bigger as the season progresses.

The Eastern Washington University men’s basketball team
took a huge step toward being a Big Sky Conference contender with a
69-62 victory over Montana, and now faces another challenge in
league unbeaten Montana State Saturday at 2:05 p.m. at Reese Court
in Cheney, Wash.

The game will be carried live on ESPN 700-AM and
www.watchbigsky.com, and televised regionally by SWX.

Montana State swept the Hornets (70-55) and Lumberjacks (68-66)
last week, and on Thursday (Jan. 9) improved to 3-0 in the league
with a 79-76 win at Portland State. The Bobcats are now 8-6
overall. Eastern is 6-8 overall and 2-1 in the Big Sky.

The win Thursday against the Griz was Eastern’s first
victory since Nov. 29, as the Eagles snapped a six-game losing
streak—including five games on the road. It also snapped
EWU’s five-game losing skid against the Grizzlies, and was
EWU’s first victory over UM since winning 59-55 in overtime
on Feb. 26, 2011. Montana has played in four straight Big Sky
Championship games and has posted four consecutive 20-win seasons,
but led just once – at 33-32 to open the second half --
against EWU.

On Saturday, Eastern plays a MSU team it has battled
tooth-and-nail with in recent years. The last 10 meetings –
including six Eagle victories -- have featured seven games decided
by six points or less. Eastern won last year 72-68 at home and fell
70-68 on the road.

Eastern head coach Jim Hayford is excited for
his team to protect its home court on Saturday, but even more
thrilled that his team didn’t find itself in a 0-3 hole
heading into the visit from the Bobcats. After Saturday’s
game, Eastern plays at Northern Arizona against the Lumberjacks,
who are currently 2-1 in the league.

“What needs to happen is you need to defend your
home court,” he explained. “If we hadn’t done
that (against Montana) we would be looking at 0-3 and we would be
like some of the other teams that lost home games. It is hard to
say any one game is super important because it is a 20-game
conference schedule.

“We play the longest duration of games of any conference
in Division I,” he continued. “You have to keep your
guys playing steady for 20 games. To come back Saturday 0-3 would
have been really, really hard. I believe in the character of our
players, but I am sure glad that didn’t happen.”

In recent weeks, Eastern has battled injuries (Ognjen
Miljkovic has missed the last three games with a sprained
ankle), flu (all but three players were impacted last weekend) and
a diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease (Thomas
Reuter). As a result, four Eagles logged at least 37
minutes versus Montana, and Tyler Harvey (25),
Martin Seiferth (21) and Venky
Jois (14) combined for 60 of EWU’s 69 points.

“We are not real deep right now,” admitted Hayford.
“Thomas, bless his heart, is playing, but he doesn’t
know if he is going to be able to get out of his bed because of his
stomach. We don’t have OG with his ankle, but we got some
pretty good minutes from Garrett Moon (against Montana). It is what
it is. I think each one of our players would say whatever the
amount of minutes they have to play to win, that is what they are
going to do. The mind quits before the body so we just have to keep
a real strong mind.”

Montana was picked to finish second in the league by the media
and third by the coaches. The Bobcats were picked fifth by the
media and sixth by the coaches, and the Eagles were picked to
finish fifth by the coaches and sixth by the media.

Eagle Tip-Ins

* Early-season trends show the importance of field goal shooting
and field goal shooting defense in EWU’s win-loss record.
Eastern is 6-0 when it has a better shooting percentage than its
opponents and 0-8 when it doesn’t. Also, the Eagles are 6-0
when making at least 45.0 percent of their shots, and 0-8 when they
are under that mark. In addition, EWU is 5-1 when it holds
opponents to 44.4 percent or less from the field, and 1-7 when
opponents shoot better than that mark. Eastern is 5-2 when scoring
71 or more points, and 5-1 when allowing 70 or fewer.

* At home or on neutral courts this season, EWU is 6-1 and has
averaged 80.4 points per game on 50.2 shooting from the field,
while allowing 63.9 points per game on 41.0 percent shooting. But
on opponent home courts where EWU is 0-7, the Eagles are averaging
68.1 points on 39.1 percent shooting, while opponents are scoring
at an 85.3 clip and making 47.1 percent from the field. No Eastern
games have been decided by six points or less, and only four by 10
or less.

* In NCAA Division I statistics through games of Jan. 9, Eastern
is ranked 31st among 345 schools with an average of 8.2 3-pointers
made per game, 112th in 3-point field goal percentage (35.8
percent) and 78th in fewest turnovers per game (11.5).
Individually, Tyler Harvey is sixth in 3-pointers
made per game (3.7), 28th in 3-point percentage (44.4 percent) and
27th in scoring (20.4), with Drew Brandon 52nd in
assists (5.1) and 62nd in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.1).
Montana State is 69th in 3-pointers per game (7.6) and 56th in
3-point field goal percentage (38.1 percent), and is also 73rd in
steals per game (7.4).

* The Eagles are leading the Big Sky Conference thus far in
3-pointers made per game (8.2) and rebounds (37.0), and are second
in blocked shots (4.1), second in scoring offense (74.3), third in
defensive field goal percentage (.441), third in defensive 3-point
field goal percentage (.340), third in offensive rebounds (11.4),
third in assists (13.0) and third in assist-to-turnover ratio
(+1.1). Eastern is now sixth in rebounding margin with a minus 0.1
for the season thus far. A year ago, Eastern was 10th out of 11
teams with a minus margin of 4.2 per game.

* Individually, Tyler Harvey is second in the
Big Sky in scoring (20.4), Venky Jois is 16th
(12.9), Drew Brandon is 26th (10.9) and
Parker Kelly is just out of the top 30 (9.9).
Harvey and Jois are both sophomores, and no other sophomores or
freshmen rank in the top 20. Harvey also leads in 3-pointers made
per game (3.7) and is sixth in 3-point field goal percentage
(.444). Kelly is leading in free throw percentage (.903) and Harvey
is 10th (.826). Brandon is leading the league in assist-to-turnover
ratio (+2.5) and assists (5.1), and ranks ninth in rebounding
(6.6). Martin Seiferth is second in field goal
percentage (.627), second in blocked shots (1.4) and 15th in
rebounding (4.9), and Jois is fourth in blocked shots (1.4), third
in rebounding (8.0) and fourth in offensive rebounds (2.9).

* Sophomore Tyler Harvey is the second-leading
scorer in the Big Sky with a 20.4 average and is leading in
conference games only (24.7). He has scored 74 points in his last
three games, including 25 versus Montana when he made seven of his
last eight shots to finish 10-of-21 from the field. He also had a
30-point effort against Weber State on Jan. 2 when he equaled the
39th-best performance in school history. He scored 21 in the first
half alone en route to equaling the career high of 30 he set in
EWU’s last victory on Nov. 29 versus Seattle. He finished
10-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range and
6-of-6 from the free throw line.

* Martin Seiferth is nearing a school record
with Venky Jois close behind, as four young Eagles
are already ranked among Eastern’s career leaders.
Seiferth’s 88 blocks ranks second in school history, only 11
behind the school record of 99 (Paul Butorac 2004-07). Jois has 85
blocked shots to rank fourth, just two behind Brandon Moore
(2007-10) with 87. Seiferth also currently ranks No. 2 in career
field goal percentage (.624), ranking just behind Ron Cox (.629
from 1974-77). Tyler Harvey is currently third in
3-point field goal percentage (44.1 percent), with the school
record of 50.3 percent held by Marco Quinto (1999-02).
Parker Kelly is 10th in 3-point percentage (39.5
percent) and ninth in 3-pointers made with 113.

* If the schedule and travel wasn’t difficult enough,
Eastern has had to battle a recent rash of illness and injuries.
Head coach Jim Hayford said all but three of his
players fought through flu-like symptoms while they were in Utah
and Idaho, including a missed game versus Weber State for backup
point guard Daniel Hill. Also, key reserve
Ognjen Miljkovic has now missed three-straight
games with an ankle sprain and Thomas Reuter
continues to battle the effects of Crohn’s Disease diagnosed
during Eastern’s week-long trip to play Seton Hall and
Connecticut. Reuter became ill after the team’s first day on
the East Coast and missed both games. Said Eastern head coach
Jim Hayford: “We came to New York and had a
great practice; two hours later he was in the hospital and was in
there for most of five days. The good thing is they found out what
was wrong with him. It’s something he’s going to have
to manage with medication and good medical help the rest of his
life. It was a really, really hard week for Thomas, so my heart
hurts for him.”

* In the Sagarin computer ratings through games of Jan. 9,
Eastern is 222nd with the 62nd-toughest strength of schedule in the
nation. December opponents Connecticut (39th), Saint Mary’s
(55th), UC Irvine (102nd) and Seton Hall (110th) are all ranked in
the top 110. Montana is 211th and MSU is 265th, and Northern
Colorado is the top Big Sky team at 128th.

* Through games of Jan. 5, the Eagles are third in the Big Sky
Conference and 227th in NCAA Division I (345 schools) in RPI. North
Dakota is currently the top Big Sky school in the RPI at 107th, and
has the 13th-toughest schedule in the nation. The Big Sky’s
team RPI rating is 27th among 33 conferences. Among this
week’s opponents, Montana is 225th overall and seventh in the
Big Sky, and Montana State is 298th nationally and ninth in the
league.

* Venky Jois, the Big Sky Conference Freshman
of the Year in the 2012-13 season, is EWU’s second-leading
scorer with a 12.9 average. He is also averaging a team-leading 8.0
rebounds, as well as 2.5 assists and 1.4 blocks per game. So far he
has four double-doubles this season (22 points and 11 rebounds
against Pacific; 19 points and 10 rebounds versus Seattle; 11
points and 11 rebounds at Seton Hall; and 15 points and 10 rebounds
at Idaho State). He had nine double-doubles as a freshman to rank
among the leaders in NCAA Division I, and now has 13 in his 42-game
career.

* Point guard Drew Brandon, a transfer from
Sierra College in California, is averaging 10.9 points, 6.6
rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game after his first 14
games in NCAA Division I. He already has a pair of double-doubles,
including 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists against Boston
University. He equaled the 15th-most assists in school history with
10 assists against Walla Walla, becoming the 28th Eastern player to
finish in double figures in assists in a game. He also had nine
rebounds, four steals and three points, just two nights after
finishing with 13 points, 14 rebounds and six assists versus
Washington. He is the lone newcomer to EWU’s starting
lineup.

* Sophomore guard Tyler Harvey has now averaged
19.0 points per game in his last 22 games as an Eagle after
averaging 1.3 points in his first 13 outings. A year ago, he scored
132 points (16.5 average) on 55 percent shooting from the field
(52-of-94, including 20-of-44 3-point attempts) in EWU’s last
eight games. In the first 13 games he played in the 2012-13 season,
Harvey scored just 17 points (by contrast, in the first 13 games
this season he scored 261 with an average of 20.1 per game). In his
freshman season, he played in 21 of EWU’s 31 games and
averaged 14.0 minutes and 7.1 points per game, compared to averages
of 36.0 minutes and 20.1 points per game this season.

* In EWU’s most recent outing, six-foot-10 junior
Martin Seiferth came to the party with 21 points
and 12 rebounds as the Eagles opened their Big Sky home schedule
Jan. 9 with a 69-62 victory over two-time defending champion
Montana at Reese Court. The win was Eastern’s first victory
since Nov. 29, as the Eagles snapped a six-game losing
streak—including five games on the road. It also snapped
EWU’s five-game losing skid against the Grizzlies, and was
EWU’s first victory over UM since winning 59-55 in overtime
on Feb. 26, 2011. Montana has played in four straight Big Sky
Championship games and has posted four consecutive 20-win seasons.
Seiferth had his most productive game against a NCAA Division I
opponent this season by making 10-of-13 shots from the field with
five dunks and four blocked shots. Tyler Harvey at
one point in the game was just 3-of-13 from the field, but made
seven of his last eight shots to finish with a game-high 25 points
and four assists. Venky Jois had 14 points, seven
rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot as he came three boards
from his fifth double-double of the season and 14th of his career.
Point guard Drew Brandon chipped in four points,
eight rebounds and five assists for the Eagles. And Parker
Kelly did a superb job guarding Montana’s Kareem
Jamar, who entered the game ranked third in the Big Sky and 49th
nationally at 19.3 points per game. Jamar, an honorable mention
All-America selection a year ago after winning Big Sky Conference
regular season and tournament MVP honors, finished with only 10
points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field, as Kelly finished with
three steals and three points.

Other Season Notes

* Eastern is tied with Maine and Nicholls State for the most
foreign players in NCAA Division I with seven (3 from Australia, 3
from Germany, 1 from Serbia).

* A year ago, mainly because of injuries, Eastern used 14
different starting lineups. Thus far, Eastern has used one.

* Eastern has been picked to finish fifth by the coaches and
sixth by the media in preseason polls announced by the Big Sky
Conference on Oct. 17. EWU was picked to finish behind
preseason pick Weber State, North Dakota, Montana and Northern
Colorado in the coaches’ poll. The media picked Montana State
to finish in fifth just ahead of the Eagles. Weber State was picked
to win the league in both polls.

* Eastern will be trying for its third Big Sky Conference
Tournament berth in the last four years in 2013-14, and its 13th in
27 years as a member of the league. Eastern has 12 previous
appearances (1990, 98, 99, 2000, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 11,
12).

* The Big Sky Conference Tournament will take place March 13-15
at the site of the regular season champion. For the second-straight
year, it will now include seven teams, with the regular season
champion receiving a first-round bye. The tournament will include a
quarterfinal round with six of the teams playing, followed by
semifinals and the championship game.

* Eastern sophomore forward Venky Jois from
Boronia, Australia, was named to ESPN’s "All-Aussie" team
selected by analyst Fran Fraschilla. The squad was revealed by
Fraschilla during the New Mexico/Kansas game on Dec. 14. In
addition, Jois was selected by College Hoops Daily to its All-Big
Sky Conference Team for the month of November and its All-Big Sky
Conference Team during non-conference play. Jois helped lead EWU to
a 5-2 record in November -- the school's best start to a season in
five years.

* Eastern guard Tyler Harvey was selected as
the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 3 after his
30-point performance against Seattle in an 82-75 victory on Nov.
29. In recording the 49th performance of 30 points or more in
school history (currently tied with nine others for 39th), Harvey
sank four crucial free throws in the final three minutes to help
Eastern improve to 5-2 on the season -- the best start in five
seasons for EWU, which was 6-2 to start the 2008-09 season. Harvey
made 9-of-15 shots from the field, including 6-of-9 3-point
attempts, and also sank all six of his free throws. “Tyler
obviously had a tremendous game,” said Eastern head coach
Jim Hayford. “He is an extremely talented
offensive player, and he has improved in every level of his
game.”

* In defeating Seattle 82-75 on Nov. 29, Eastern improved to 5-2
on the season for the first time since 2008-09 when EWU started
6-2. At the time, the Eagles were 3-0 at home, 0-2 on the road and
2-0 on neutral courts, and nearly two full months ahead of last
year’s win total. The Eagles, who were 10-21 a year ago,
picked up their fifth victory on Jan. 28, 2013, with a 76-65
victory over Portland State and their sixth victory three nights
later.

* The Eagles played three games in three nights on Nov. 22-24 in
Irvine, Calif., as part of the of the 2K Sports Classic benefitting
the Wounded Warrior Project. They came away with a 2-1 record,
beating Boston University 80-68 and LIU Brooklyn 102-70 before
bowing to host UC Irvine 81-58 in the finale. In Eastern’s
80-68 win over Boston University, four players scored in double
figures on a hot-shooting night against the team picked to win the
Patriot League title. Eastern made 54 percent of its shots while
holding the Terriers to 38 percent. Six players scored in double
figures the next night in a 102-100 victory over LIU Brooklyn, as
Eastern had five 3-pointers in the first seven minutes to open a
28-1 lead. The 102 points Eastern scored was its most against a
NCAA Division I opponent since beating Cal State Fullerton 110-70
on Nov. 27, 2006. Eastern finished the game making 11-of-17
3-pointers for 65 percent, and sank 64 percent of its shots
overall. Eastern held the Blackbirds to 35 percent shooting and
dominated rebounding by a 40-29 margin. The Eagles led 54-29 at
halftime and led by as many as 37 in the second half. The third
night, in an 81-58 loss to UC Irvine, Eastern fell behind by 21
points at halftime. UC Irvine made 11-of-19 3-point shots (58
percent) and 40 percent overall in the game, while Eastern made
only 26 percent and was 4-of-21 from 3-point range.

* Sophomore Tyler Harvey was named to the
All-Tournament team at the 2K Sports Classic in Irvine, Calif.,
where EWU went 2-1. Harvey led the Eagles in scoring against Boston
University and UC Irvine with 21 points in each game, and also led
EWU in rebounding with eight versus LIU Brooklyn. He followed that
performance with a career-high nine boards against the Anteaters.
He averaged 18.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals
per game in the tourney while making 52.8 percent of his shots from
the field including 7-of-15 from the 3-point stripe, as well as
11-of-13 free throws for 84.6 percent.

* Sophomore Venky Jois, the
Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year a year ago, joined Harvey
on the All-Tournament team at the 2K Sports Classic. He averaged
15.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while making
56.3 percent of his shots from the field.

* Six-foot-10 junior Martin Seiferth finished
with 24 points and 18 rebounds against Walla Walla, as he equaled
the fifth-best rebounding performance in school history. He came
close to his career highs of 27 points and 21 rebounds set in
separate games last season. The last time EWU had a 20-20
performance was Paul Butorac against Lewis-Clark State College on
Nov. 18, 2006.

* Eastern returns four starters and seven total letterwinners
from last year’s team, which finished 10-21 overall and 7-13
in the 11-team Big Sky under head coach Jim
Hayford, who is in his third year at the helm of a squad
with no seniors. A year ago, Eastern finished with four wins in its
last eight outings, but came up short in qualifying for the
seven-team Big Sky Conference Tournament. However, three of those
late losses included an overtime loss to UNC, a four-point setback
to North Dakota and an eight-point loss at Weber State.

* In all, Eastern’s 2013-14 schedule includes 10 games
versus six schools who participated in national postseason
tournaments a year ago. Eastern will play six games against those
opponents on the road, and four games at home. Three appeared in
the NCAA Tournament – LIU Brooklyn (Nov. 23 in Irvine), Saint
Mary’s (Dec. 8 on the road) and Montana (Jan. 9 at home and
Feb. 8 on the road). UC Irvine (Dec. 15 at home and Nov. 24 in
Irvine) played in the College Basketball Invitational Tournament,
and won a game before falling in the quarterfinals. The other three
postseason opponents on EWU’s schedule were also in the
CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Weber State (Jan. 2
on the road and March 8 at home) won four games to advance to the
championship, where it lost to East Carolina 77-74. North Dakota
(Jan. 30 at home and March 1 on the road) played in the first
round, as did Boston University (Nov. 22 at UC Irvine
Tournament).

* The schedule also featured a trip to the East Coast to play
Connecticut and Seton Hall. Connecticut finished 20-10 overall and
10-8 in the Big East Conference last season, while Seton Hall was
15-18 overall and 3-15 in the league. However, Seton Hall and six
other teams in the so-called “Catholic 7” broke off
from the league, but have retained the Big East tag. The remaining
Big East teams, plus others in the expanded conference, are now
named the American Athletic Conference.

* The Eagles hope a more experienced team will translate to
winning more of the close games they lost in the 2012-13 season.
Nine of EWU’s losses were one-possession games with less than
four minutes remaining, and the Eagles finished 6-10 in games
decided by 10 points or less.

* Hayford won for the 279th time in his 400th game as a
collegiate coach on March 7 when the Eagles beat Idaho State 87-73.
He entered the 2013-14 season with a 279-122 (69.6 percent) record
in 14 seasons as a head coach, including a 25-38 mark at Eastern.
He was 217-57 (79.2 percent) in 10 seasons at Whitworth
(2001-2011), and before that was 37-27 in two seasons at the
University of Sioux Falls (S.D.).

Quoting Coach Hayford

On Martin Seiferth and Tyler Harvey: “I
am really proud of Martin. He has been struggling, but he kept
bringing great effort. For him to have his signature game and have
it be against Montana, I am just really happy for him. Tyler came
up and had a great second half -- he wasn’t happy with his
numbers at halftime. I knew he was going to put the ball in the
basket. We had two threes for him on the inbounds play on the zone.
I thought that made the basket a little bit bigger for him. Again,
I want to go on the record saying I love the character of our
players.”

On Offense and Defense Against Montana:
“It was a textbook example of how you defend your home court,
except our foul shooting wasn’t good enough. We need to shoot
better, but we hit that magic number. We are undefeated when we
shoot 45 percent and we were right on the nose with that against
Montana. It was a defensive battle, and it was a defensive win.
There were some matchup things we had to go through to get baskets,
but at the end of the day this was about grinding it out on
defense. Montana has some toughness, but they are not pushing us
around in our gym. I thought we responded saying they are not going
to do that to us, and they are not going to do it to us here. I
thought our defense tightened up the last 10 minutes.”

On Montana Win: “I am certainly very
proud of our guys. This was a game that you had to have toughness,
and you had to have grit. Our players showed that. To show that
while not winning a game since Nov. 29 shows amazing character.
They didn’t start doubting, and they kept confidence in
themselves, their teammates and their coaching. They kept focusing
on getting better. We played a very difficult schedule, and we
played it away from home. These guys kept their chin up, and they
believed. That is why we got this win over the defending champion
in our gym.”

On Defense: “When we are not making
shots, we can’t let that affect our confidence and our
energy. If you want to be a tough team you have to hang your hat on
defense, so that even when you are not making shots you can stay in
the game. We’ll teach them and we’ll grow from
that.”

On Seattle Victory: “It is a very
satisfying win. I remembered at the end of my last year at
Whitworth being told your team is 50-2 in your last 52 games. I
told myself it is just as satisfying to get our team to 5-2 against
Seattle because these guys have been through so much. They have
matured, and they had a great offseason. I am just a very proud
coach.”

On Drew Brandon and Rebounding:
“He’s a really good player. He went to the same junior
college that Craig Fortier played at, so that’s how Craig
knew about him. What I like about him is he is really unaffected
– he’s going to play at his own speed and he plays
hard. He’s one of the best rebounding guards I’ve ever
coached. Drew is obviously a great addition to our program. We had
all these pieces coming back, but we needed to go find a point
guard. He certainly is meeting our expectations. Rebounding is
something we better improve on from last year, or we will have the
same results. Drew really helps us. He really helps us on the
boards, and he knows how to run the offense. As he gets more
comfortable, we are going to get better and better.”

On Team Identity: “Our identity is that
as we are going to play smart and hard basketball, and we are going
to do it together. You are going to see an unselfish team that lays
it out on the court every night and plays like the band of brothers
they are. The biggest difference (from last season) is our players
are all a little bit older. We were Eagles that were barely out of
the nest last year, and now we can fly a little bit.”

On This Year’s Eagle Team: “We have
a great chemistry – they really like each other. A year ago
they didn’t know one another. They have been living life
together and they do a lot of things as a group. They enjoy
spending time with one another, and I think that will spill over
into on-court success.”

On Big Sky Conference Race: “I think the
Big Sky Conference is going to be more difficult -- there are many
teams returning solid rosters. We have a very challenging preseason
that will prepare us for a great conference season.”

On Competitiveness of Big Sky: “There
were a number of close games. That is part of being in a
competitive conference. The hard part about experience is getting
it. Hopefully we got it, and we will win more than our fair share
of those close games this year. I do like that our guys found ways
to win some of those last year.”

On Playing Difficult Schedule: “You
cannot be afraid of a tough schedule playing these bigger schools
regardless of the outcome. You just focus on it making you better
and better. I think we have a non-conference schedule that will put
us in the fire. It will refine us, make us stronger and prepare us
for Big Sky play. That is what this year’s schedule is, so we
embrace it.”

EWU vs. Montana State Series Notes

* Eastern has won three of the last four meetings against MSU,
including a split last season. Since Eastern became a member of
NCAA Division I in the 1983-84 season, the Eagles are 25-35 against
Montana State (includes two MSU forfeits in the 1993-94 season).
Since 1983-84, Eastern is 7-23 in Bozeman and 18-12 in Cheney
against the Bobcats. EWU trails in the all-time series 32-43 (20-12
in Cheney, 9-28 in Bozeman, 3-3 neutral).

* A year ago, Eastern was edged by MSU in Bozeman 70-68 and then
won in Cheney 72-68. A year earlier Eastern recorded a huge 82-66
road victory over the Bobcats in the first Big Sky Conference game
in the head coaching career of Jim Hayford, then later in the year
won in Cheney 69-52.

* Eastern has won 15 of the last 28 after winning just once in
the previous 13 games (not counting two MSU forfeits). However,
Eastern is just 7-10 against the Bobcats in the last 17 meetings,
including losses in Bozeman in seven of the last nine meetings.
Until a 75-73 triumph on Jan. 10, 2010, in Bozeman, the Eagles
hadn’t won in Bozeman since Feb. 5, 2004, in a 64-61 triumph.
Later in the season on Feb. 12, 2010, Eastern won at home against
the Bobcats 74-69 to complete EWU’s first sweep over MSU
since 2004.